The Ministry of Shipping will tomorrow organise the first of many workshops under the Sagarmala programme in order to engage with various stakeholders on implementation of projects.

Sagarmala, the flagship programme of the ministry, has moved from the conceptualisation and planning stage to the implementation level, it said. (Reuters)

The Ministry of Shipping will tomorrow organise the first of many workshops under the Sagarmala programme in order to engage with various stakeholders on the implementation of projects. The first workshop themed ‘Accelerating Sagarmala Implementation – Engaging with States’ will be organised at India Habitat Centre here tomorrow, the ministry said in a statement. Sagarmala, the flagship programme of the ministry, has moved from the conceptualisation and planning stage to the implementation level, it said. As part of the programme, more than 400 projects have been identified across the areas of port modernisation and new port development, connectivity enhancement, port-linked industrialisation and coastal community development.

“To create awareness about the programme among the stakeholders and to engage with them, the ministry is organising a series of workshops over the next 6–8 months under the aegis of the Sagarmala programme,” it said. The main objective of this workshop is to enhance the engagement among the Ministry of Shipping, other line ministries and various maritime states for Sagarmala programme. The workshop will be presided by Secretary (Shipping) and the key note address will be delivered by NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant. Principal Secretaries of the maritime states, chairmen of ports and officials of the line ministries are also expected to attend the workshop.

“The workshop also aims to familiarise the key stakeholders with the provisions of the Sagarmala programme, its objectives and avenues available for them to implement these projects. It will provide a platform for the states to exhibit their ongoing work and work envisaged for future and provide a feedback mechanism to address their concerns with regards to Sagarmala programme,” the ministry said. Funding guidelines, coastal berth scheme and initiatives under the coastal community development especially for skill development will be discussed threadbare during the workshop.

As per the concept approved by the government, the projects identified under Sagarmala will be taken up by the respective ports, state governments or maritime boards and central ministries mainly through private funding or PPP mode, it said. The Sagarmala Development Company Ltd (SDCL) has been set up by the Ministry of Shipping to provide equity support to the project SPV’s and funding support to residual projects under Sagarmala. Already 239 projects worth Rs 1.37 lakh crore are under various stages of development and implementation, it added.